William Allen, MBA, MLT
During this week’s reading I found the topic on “Why do virtual teams need to understand economics” most interesting, (Fisher & Fisher 2011. P. 132). In some situations, depending on team objectives, global virtual teams would benefit from understanding basic economics in foreign countries. Upon further research, it became more apparent how the laws in different countries could very easily become an issue for virtual teams and the organizations they are involved with either directly or indirectly. “One implication is that the creation and operation of virtual teams can lead executives to unwittingly violate laws” (Plump & Ketchen, 2013). This could proof to be disastrous for any organization, an excellent point for ensuring virtual teams have a basic understanding of legislation in other countries. This can be very easily included in cultural sensitivity training, which would have an added benefit of not only including the culture of other team members but also why they may do things a cetin way.
During this week’s reading I found the topic on “Why do virtual teams need to understand economics” most interesting, (Fisher & Fisher 2011. P. 132). In some situations, depending on team objectives, global virtual teams would benefit from understanding basic economics in foreign countries. Upon further research, it became more apparent how the laws in different countries could very easily become an issue for virtual teams and the organizations they are involved with either directly or indirectly. “One implication is that the creation and operation of virtual teams can lead executives to unwittingly violate laws” (Plump & Ketchen, 2013). This could proof to be disastrous for any organization, an excellent point for ensuring virtual teams have a basic understanding of legislation in other countries. This can be very easily included in cultural sensitivity training, which would have an added benefit of not only including the culture of other team members but also why they may do things a cetin way.
The findings in a survey conducted by RW3 CultureWizard
(2010) show the laws of other cultures can be challenging. The survey results indicated;
• 81%
of the respondents showed time zones to be the “greatest general hurdle”.
• 64%
- language
• 59%
- laws and customs
• 43%
- technology
The laws and customs of different
cultures can play a large role in an organization's
training, monitoring, and problem-solving.
As stated by Plump & Ketchen, (2013) “Despite their advantages, virtual
teams can be a legal landmine for organizations”. This adds a new complexity to virtual teams
which will require additional resources to manage effectively.
Some
of these challenges may include, work and labor related issues, such as wages
and work hours, financial issues, such as income and tax laws, however, legal issues which may be more difficult to deal with may include
those dealing with intellectual property (IP). IP laws tend to be different is different
countries, for example, some countries do
not have copyright protection laws for IP
from other countries. In these cases, it’s important to establish this early on
in the formation of the virtual team and ensure rules are communicated to all
and everyone fully understands what they entail. In the event the virtual team
is in the process of creating IP, all team members need to understand the IP
product is in part owned by each individual on the team, (Chan, 2002).
I
agree with both Chan, (2002) and RW3 CultureWizard, 2(010),
with respect to establishing rules for teamwork
and conduct. Organizations need to ensure team members conduct business within pre-set protocols. Chan (2002) goes on
to encourage virtual team contracts to help protect team members personally or
the organizations themselves. The threat of removal from the team or even legal
action should a global team member perform unethically or break or cause to
break laws in other countries.
Conclusion
Honesty and trust play a large role in virtual teams. For a
team to be successful team members need to be able to trust one another and
feel confident each team member is working towards achieving set goals. It is
imperative a team leader establish the means to ensure all laws are followed
regardless of the country of origin, failure to do so may be costly for the
individual team members, or the entire team and/or organization.
References
Adler, N. (2010), International
Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 5th edition. Cincinnati: Southwestern
College Publishing. ISBN: 9780324360745
Chan, S. (2002), Legal Issues for
Virtual Teams, retrieved from http://www.drdobbs.com/legal- issues-for-virtual-teams/184412346
Fisher, K., & Fisher, M. D.
(2011). Manager’s guide to virtual teams. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Plump, C. M., & Ketchen JR, D.
J. (2013). Navigating the Possible Legal Pitfalls of Virtual
Teams. Journal of Organization Design, 2(3), 51-55.
doi:10.7146/jod.2.3.13463
RW3 CultureWizard. (2010), The
Challenges of Working in Virtual Teams, Virtual Teams Survey
Report, retrieved from http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&sourc
e=web&cd=1&ved=0CBwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rw-3.com%2FVTSRepo rtv7.pdf&ei=9_DnU-z0As__yQSH84LYDQ&usg=AFQjCNG975_j6ApqL-E1QX9G
MLRlDW_00g&bvm=bv.72676100,d.aWw
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